CollaborationIDriveSync provides all the standard sharing options I'd expect to see in a file-syncing service, including being able to share a folder or document with select people only, or by giving out a public link to a folder or file (all files and folders are private by default).

When you share a folder, the collaborating party does not have a sign up for an IDrive account, which is the right approach. Asking collaborators to first establish an account is a barrier to use, and it hurts the users as well as the host company's reputation.

One neat feature is the ability to drag-and-drop files and folders in the Web app onto buttons for your contacts to quickly share more documents with them.

PricesA Basic free IDriveSync account provides 5GB storage space, which is on par with SugarSync. Dropbox's free account offers less than half of that amount (2GB).

At the Pro level, IDriveSync offers two options: 150GB for $4.95 per month or $49.50 per year; or 500GB for $14.95 per month or $149.50 per year. Both of those prices are highly competitively given the market. See the price chart below for more details, and click the chart to see a larger version of it.

It's difficult to compare file-syncing services by price and space allotment because each service offers a varied range of options, and some services add features at the premium price.

If "free" is the magic word, sign up for CX (4 stars), which is a very good service that works on a number of platforms and gives you 10GB of space at no cost. That's the largest amount of free space I've seen.

Microsoft SkyDrive comes close, offering 7GB. The benefit of using SkyDrive is it also contains "lite" Web versions of the most popular apps in Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint (and Notes is thrown in for good measure, but it's certainly not among the most well used of the apps).

IDriveSync for SpaceThe only reason to choose IDriveSync as your file-syncing service is to get a big storage space for little money. If you need more than 100GB of space and price is your foremost concern, you'll get more for less with IDriveSync Pro than what's offered in Google Drive, Dropbox, and SugarSync.

Dropbox and SugarSync remain our Editors' Choices, though. Dropbox couldn't be simpler to use for beginners, and SugarSync get file-syncing right for more experienced users who want a little more control.

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Jill Duffy is a contributing editor, specializing in productivity apps and software, as well as technologies for health and fitness. She writes the weekly Get Organized column, with tips on how to lead a better digital life. Her first book, Get Organized: How to Clean Up Your Messy Digital Life is available for Kindle, iPad, and other digital formats. She is also the creator and author of ProductivityReport.org.
Before joining PCMag.com, she was senior editor at the Association for Computing Machinery, a non-profit membership organization for...
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